Chew On This! – 2 Samuel 9:8

8 Shuffling and stammering, not looking him in the eye, Mephibosheth said, "Who am I that you pay attention to a stray dog like me?"

– 2 Samuel 9:8

Chew On This!

I saw a commercial for the SPCA this morning – you know, the one where the camera looks into the trembling eyes of neglected and abused dogs and then appeals to your sense of humanity, asking you to send a monthly pledge to help care for these defenseless animals.  The producers did a good job of showing the human-like characteristics of the animals in an attempt to appeal to the viewers sensitivity and compassion towards the helpless strays.

As a dog owner, and a lover of animals in general, I can appreciate the appeal . . . BUT . . . what I want you to get this morning is this . . . each one of us, at some point in our life, whether past, present, or in the future, has, or will have been, down-and-out, feeling neglected, abused in some way, stepped over, ignored, going through a crisis, facing a dilemma, and needing a warm hug from someone who cares.  That is the human condition and no one is immune or exempt.  Everyone will experience the loneliness of neglect somewhere along our path and the problem is that there will be no TV cameras, no skilled writers poised to tell our stories, no crafty producer willing to shell out the bucks to make everyone aware of our plight.

No . . . we only have each other.  Just you and me.  It's up to us to be the extended arms of Christ and to show compassion and love to our brothers and sisters, whether they are Christians or not.  It's not up to us to pass judgement or need explanation of circumstances, we are just to consider the life that God breathed into every individual and to be love where it does not exist.  As willing as we are to care for stray animals, we need to be even more prepared to tend to the needs of the down-and-out, the neglected, and forgotten of society.  We need to pay attention.

And while yes, I understand that there are those who would take advantage of our kindness, the blessing is in the doing, not in the receiving.  Our motive should not be a grateful response, or a visible change.  In fact, we will probably be met with questioning and a bit of mistrust (just like Mephibosheth), but that's OK.  God sees our hearts when we act towards another of His sons and daughters.  He hears the kind words spoken.  He knows the things that are done in secret, with no expectation of accolades.  He sees, and He knows, and He smiles.

So how about it?  Would you like to make God smile today?  See where you can show some humanity to humanity today . . . and then again tomorrow.  See where the Holy Spirit will lead you and then let Him guide you in how you need to show compassion and love to another Brother or Sister in desperate need of someone to just pay attention.

Prayer

Father, forgive our neglect as we walk past those in need.  Help us to be mindful of the love and the caring that You have shown to us in our most desperate times.  Thank You for reminding us today that it is only by Your Grace that we are able to share our relationship with You to a frightened and neglected world.  Praise be to You our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Risen Christ, from whom all of our blessings flow and in whom we move, and live, and have life.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard